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NY Sen. Skoufis announces bid for DNC chair

New York State Senator James Skoufis
nysenate.gov
New York State Senator James Skoufis

New York State Senator James Skoufis has launched a long-shot bid to become chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Chair Jamie Harrison is not seeking another four-year term after November’s losses, and voting members are set to elect a new leader on February 1st. Skoufis, a Democrat from the 42nd District who was just reelected to his fourth term in the state Senate, joins a growing list of candidates that includes Minnesota Democratic Chairman Ken Martin and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

"When you outperform the top of the ticket by 24 percent, you know a thing or two about brass-tacks campaigns," said Skoufis in a campaign announcement video Saturday.
 
Skoufis does not have many connections in Washington, and is largely unknown to the voting membership. But he is confident his self-proclaimed “outsider” perspective is what the party needs.

The Democrat spoke with WAMC Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Jesse King.

Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."